Help me figure out if this plot is good or not. Please.

Okay, so here is a basic of the story. It is fiction/ fantasy/ adventure and action... basically.

The main character is a college student, at the very same college where her parents are professors and her two older siblings are also attending. She has a Romeo and Juliet situation with one guy (their families are mistakenly feuding over a misunderstanding from the past, and she has to sneak around to see him.

She discovers one night that her entire family is a legacy of guardians for humans. With their advanced abilities they are able to continue an age old war against other people with abilities too, only these people are set on punishing humans for how they treat the so-called freaks and for what they have done to the planet, in other words ignorance and unwillingness to change and improve for the better.

She discovers that, not only are there people with these advanced abilities, but also people with unexplained powers of shifting themselves into animal forms. To her horror she finds that her love interest is one of these shifters. The old feud only gets resolved later in the story when somebody else far more dangerous comes into the picture and they families have to band together to form a new group of guardians, as their only hope of victory. The guardianship (possession of heightened abilities0 or the ability to transform passes from generation to generation and their can only ever be 12 at one time.

I am thinking to break it down as follows:

4 Shifters: To be the "barrier", or first line of defense in any attack.
4 Core abilities: To defend and attack the enemy.
2 Shields: One to help deflect enemy's physical attack, and one person to deflect any mental attacks against the guardians.
1 Healer: That has ability to sense weakness in the enemy, and to heal others of course.
1 Eye (Person that is highly intuitive and can "feel" to be at the right place at the right time, and many similar abilities)

It's much like any plot, Ro-J, in as much as that the right person could turn it into a good story, while the wrong person would certainly waste that opportunity.

It's a starting point, but do you have the ability as a writer to create something worthwhile from it? If you think that you do, and if you believe passionately enough in the plot, then create some strong characters and go for it.

I am still working on character development for this. As long as the characters are true and people are able to relate, I will be happy.

However, I am very interested in is the opinions of more experienced writers, like yourself. Do you feel that there are too many stories out there with plots like this one, and that it has been redone too many times?

The last thing I would want to do is rip use an idea that has already been used way too much. But keep the constructive criticism coming!!

You know, Ro, it's not really possible to have a well-written novel fail only because it has a plot similar to something that's been done before. You mention Romeo and Juliet--well, hasn't that plot been a hit in books and movies time and time again?

If you say no plot is allowed to be similar, it's like saying 'We've had Catherine Zeta Jones, so we can't have any more brunettes right now.' I'm sure you know that there's really no such thing as a 100% original plot that's never been done before. But every good novel has something unique by way of characterisation, style, angle etc.

You make a great point. I guess it's being new at writing and a little bit of doubting one's ability...but in the end I think people will be able to relate to it. All I want after all is for someone to feel as inspired as I do after reading a good book.

Do you have any particular view on the plot I mentioned? I know that not every plot always appeals to everyone, but at least I hope it turns out well.

A story concept means nothing. I can tell you now, it has been done before. What matters is how you write it, the characterization, the flow, the imagery, all of it.

There's no benefit in asking what other people think of the concept! They'll either say,"Sounds great," or, "it sounds like a ripoff of..."

If the idea stirs you, write it. Then ask people what they think of the final story. After they tell you what they don't like about it, revise it, usually several times, until you're happy with it or until you throw up your hands and say the hell with it.

I'm glad to say that my fears have been settled then. I'll keep you all posted on the book's progress. Keep your fingers crossed.

By the way, does anyone know how to go about actually naming their novels? I want it to be a saga, or one in a series pf multiple books. How do I go about deciding on a name that would make make people want to pick it up and read it? I guess a lot of that will probably depend on the marketing of the novel, right? What information can I look at to help me choose a suitable title?